Khaleda's writ seeks treatment at a specialised hospital

Staff Correspondent |
Updated at 12:24am on September 10, 2018

High Court.-- New Age file photo

The jailed Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia filed a writ petition on Sunday for ensuring her proper medical treatment at a specialised hospital.The Supreme Court Bar Association in a written letter urged chief justice Syed Mahmud Hossain to take action against the government for holding Khaleda’s trial inside the jail without consulting the Supreme Court as a constitutional obligation.The letter stated that the dignity of the highest judiciary was undermined by Khaleda’s trial in the Zia Charitable Trust case inside the old Dhaka Central Jail as the government did not consult with the Supreme Court in violation of the Articles 115 and 116 of the constitution. It said that by relocating the court for Khaleda’s trial inside the jail the government flouted the Article 109 of the constitution that stipulated, ‘The High Court Division shall have superintendence and control over all courts and tribunals subordinate to it.’It also said that shifting the court without consulting the Supreme Court was a gross violation of the Appellate Division’s land mark verdict on the separation of the judiciary from the government.The bar association also told the chief justice that the government was denying the former prime minister of proper medical treatment ignoring recommendations given by her personal physicians.It argued that Rule 19 of the High Court Division Rules empowered the chief justice to take action after investigation in case of any abuse of judicial powers. After handing over the letter to the chief justice, bar association president Zainul Abedin told reporters that the chief justice assured them of taking action under his legal capacity.Law minister Anisul Huq after a meeting with the chief justice at the latter’s office said that the lawyers who found illegality in relocation of the court inside the jail had failed to understand the law.He said that he went to the chief justice’s office on a post-eid courtesy call.Earlier in the day, Khaleda filed a writ petition seeking a directive on the government to ensure her proper medical treatment after independent medical examination at a specialised hospital recommended by her person physicians on June 9.The High Court vacation bench of Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Ahmed Sohel would hear the petition today, her lawyer Muhammad Nawshad Zamir told New Age. She also urged the court to ask the government to submit to the court her medical files and make them available to her lawyers.She sought a ruling asking the home secretary, the inspector general of police, the inspector general of prisons, the superintendent of Dhaka Central Jail, the jail’s medical officer, the Civil Surgeon, and the deputy commissioner of Dhaka authorities to explain why they would not be directed to ensure her appropriate and adequate medical treatment at United Hospital Limited or a specialised hospital of her choice to ensure her right to life.